The ATO’s been told to sort out the language it uses when writing to taxpayers. Chartered accountant GAIL FREEMAN agrees with the Tax Ombudsman that recipients need to be able to understand ATO letters.

Ever got a letter from the ATO that you were unable to understand? You’re not alone.

The Tax Ombudsman has recently reviewed the ATO’s use of high-volume standard letters. The ombudsman examined six of the ATO’s bulk-letter templates and made four key recommendations that the tax office has agreed to implement.

This means that in future you should be able to understand correspondence from the ATO.

The report confirms the ATO has a comprehensive framework for letter design, but the results are mixed because it is applied inconsistently. Also, the letters often focus on what the ATO wants to say, but not what you may need to know. The tax office also often assumes a knowledge level and language level that may not be appropriate.

The ombudsman also commented that the letters often lack empathy and appear threatening or imply guilt by the taxpayer. Also, there is no separate process for writing to people with diverse needs.

Another finding was that the ATO requires better data to measure how clear its letters are; only 41 per cent of letter templates have an effectiveness measure.

Lastly, letters can be sent to the wrong person or to the wrong address. This can be frustrating, particularly when a reply is required by a certain time and the letter is received after that time.

So what are the recommendations?

Firstly, the ATO should review and clarify its processes and ensure consistency between all teams in the ATO. It should include standard information about support options for diverse taxpayers.

I know that we have had instances where taxpayers in the same family have received different correspondence and different treatment because different people dealt with the letters even though they went in on the same day at the same time.

The next recommendation is that the ATO should develop a consultation and testing protocol of all letter templates and include diverse and representative participants. I have served on a number of committees with the ATO and, more than 20 years ago, we were recommending that correspondence needed reviewing because it wasn’t clear to taxpayers what the correspondence meant.

The third recommendation is that the ATO should implement mechanisms to gather direct feedback and use data analytics to identify the types of letters that are causing problems. It should then adopt a structured approach to the periodic review of all its standard letters using people with appropriate skills to draft these letters.

As a tax professional, I would be happy to assist the ATO with reviewing standard letters to ensure that they are clear and concise and that taxpayers are not left with questions after reading them as currently is the case.

Lastly, the Tax Ombudsman recommended that the ATO should promote correct use of communication preferences and address fields and ensure that these preferences are followed.

We and many of our clients find the current process quite confusing; some letters go to MyGov, when clients are registered, some come to us as is their preference, some go by SMS and it is not clear what happens to others.

While some legislation does state that certain items must go in the mail, I also recently saw a request to provide documents to the ATO via fax. While we have a fax, I don’t think we’ve received anything on it for quite some years. It is time that the relevant legislation deals with these matters in a manner appropriate to the 21st century.

If you need any guidance on communications received from the ATO or any other tax related matter contact the experts at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd on 02 6295 2844, email [email protected] or visit gailfreeman.com.au

Disclaimer
This column contains general advice, please do not rely on it. If you require specific advice on this topic please contact Gail Freeman or your professional adviser. Authorised Representative of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd AFS Lic No. 229892.

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